Domestic Violence
Date posted: 09/20/2008
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Many law enforcement agencies indicate domestic violence as an 'add on', meaning that this is added on to the description of the offense. Currently in Larimer County, law enforcement agencies record domestic violence differently. The Larimer County Sheriff's Office places the descriptor of Domestic Violence on the initial report of a crime, while local police departments attach it to the arrest report, rather than the initial report. While not every initial report results in an arrest, adding initial report and arrest report information is presently the best estimation of the total number of domestic violence offenses. Crimes typically associated with domestic violence include homicide, forcible sex, aggravated assault, robbery, simple assault, intimidation, kidnapping, and non-force sexual assault.
Note: Data for 2004 is incomplete due to computer changes for Larimer County Sheriff's Department that resulted in a loss of data.
What this chart shows: Domestic Violence Arrests/Reports - Larimer County,
2003-2007
* Data for 2004 is incomplete due to computer changes.
Data Source:
- Berthoud Police Department
- Colorado State University Police Department
- Estes Park Police Department
- Fort Collins Police Department
- Larimer County Sheriff's Office
- Loveland Police Department
What this chart shows: Domestic Violence Arrests/Reports by Larimer County Law Enforcement Agency, 2003-2007
*Data for 2004 from Larimer County Sheriff's Department and Berthoud Police are incomplete.
Data Source:
- Berthoud Police Department
- Colorado State University Police Department
- Estes Park Police Department
- Fort Collins Police Department
- Larimer County Sheriff's Office
- Loveland Police Department
What these data tell us:
From 2003 to 2007, Larimer County law enforcement reports and arrests for domestic violence increased 14%, whereas the county's population increased by approximately 35%. However, the rate of total reports/arrests fluctuated slightly over the same period, between 4.8 and 5.7 arrests per 1,000 adults.What this chart shows: Domestic Violence Clients at Larimer County Victim Assistance Agencies - 2007
Data Source:
What these data tell us:
Crossroads Safehouse, one of Larimer County's shelters for families who are victims of domestic violence, had 1,588 domestic violence clients access services in 2007. Crossroads Safehouse serves as a domestic violence shelter for all of Larimer County; it provided 6,246 nights of emergency shelter and 6,736 nights of transitional housing for women and children. A total of 192 individuals could not be sheltered in the Safehouse because the shelter was full.
Alternatives to Violence, located in Loveland, had 578 domestic violence clients access services in 2007. Alternatives to Violence provided 14,184 transitional housing nights of shelter for 2007.
Estes Valley Victims Advocates, a shelter in the Estes Park area, served 27 domestic violence clients with 593 bed nights.
The following statistics describe national and Colorado incidences of domestic violence:
United States Statistics
- In the United States, domestic violence accounts for about 20% of the nonfatal violent crime women experience and three percent of the nonfatal violent crime men experience. -United States Department of Justice
- Domestic violence resulted in 1,544 deaths in 2004. Of these deaths, 25% were males and 75% were females. -Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics: Homicide trends in the United States.
- The National Crime Victimization Survey found that in 2005, 14% of the households in the United States experienced one or more violent or property victimizations. About one in 320 households were affected by intimate partner violence. Citation: Klaus, P. National Crime Victimization Survey: Crime and the Nation's Households, 2005. Washington DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, DOJ (US); April 2007.
- 44% of women murdered by their intimate partner had visited an emergency department within two years of the homicide. Of these women, 93% had at least one injury visit. Citation: Crandall M, Nathens AB, Kernic MA, Hold VL, Rivara FP. Predicting future injury among women in abusive relationships. Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection and Critical Care 2004; 56(4): 902 12.
- Intimate partner violence occurs across all populations, irrespective of social, economic, religious or cultural group. Young women and those below the poverty line are disproportionately affected. Source: Heise L, Garcia-Moreno C. Violence by Intimate Partners. In: Krug E, Dahlberg LL, Mercy JA, et al, editors. World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva (Switzerland): World Health Organization; 2002. 9. 87-121.
- Homicide committed by an intimate partner is the leading cause of death of pregnant women in the United States. Source: Chang, Jeani; Cynthia Berg; Linda Saltzman and Joy Herndon, 2005. Homicide: A Leading Cause of Injury Deaths Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women in the United States, 1991-1999. American Journal of Public Health, 96 (3): 471-477.
- Women residing at domestic violence shelters were nearly 11 times more likely to report that their partner had hurt or killed pets than a comparison group of women who said they had not experienced intimate violence and that often their children had witnessed the abuse. Source: Ascione, F, Weber C, Thompson T, Heath J, Maruyama M, Hayashi K. Battered Pets and Domestic Violence. Violence Against Women 2007; 13 (4): 354-373.
Colorado Statistics
- Almost one half of all murders in Colorado are committed by an intimate or former intimate partner and the victims are disproportionately female.
- In 2006, 41 people died during 32 incidents of domestic violence. This included two children. Firearms, specifically a handgun was the most used weapon, followed by a knife.
- From 2000 to 2006, 19 children have been killed during a domestic violence related incident. In 2006, Colorado domestic violence programs responded to almost 44,000 calls.
- Almost half of all murders in Colorado are committed by a current or former intimate partner.
- In 2006, there were 7 incidents of murder/suicide resulting in 15 deaths. In all of those incidents, men were the perpetrators. Since 2002, there have been 52 incidents of murder/suicide resulting in 112 deaths. Men were the perpetrators in over 95% of those incidents.
- In 2006, domestic violence victim assistance agencies answered 43,863 emergency crisis calls. There were 295,463 volunteer hours donated to these agencies during this time.
Source: Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Additional Information:
On Compass -
- Adult Alcohol Use
- Adult Arrests
- Charges Filed by the District Attorney's Office
- Child Abuse
- Detention Center Population & Capacity
- Mental Health Status
- Probation Supervision - Adults & Juveniles
- Substance Abuse Treatment
- Unemployment Rate
- Women's Health
Outside Compass -
- Alternatives to Violence (ATV) - a non-profit victim assistance agency located in Loveland.
- Colorado Bar Association - Domestic Violence: Make it your Business - this project, sponsored by the Bar Association, supports domestic violence education in the workplace.
- Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - Crime in Colorado Reports - each annual report contains a supplemental Domestic Violence report.
- Colorado State University - Victim Assistance Team (VAT) - a 24-hour, on-call campus advocate team of trained students, faculty, and staff.
- Crossroads Safehouse - Larimer County safehouse for victims of domestic violence.
- Estes Valley Victim Advocates - a non-profit victim assistance agency located in Estes Park.
- Family Violence Prevention Fund - this organization works to prevent violence within the home and community.
- Medline Plus - this website sponsored by the United States National Library of Medicine & the National Institutes of Health, offers reports and resources for victims of domestic violence.
- National Coalition Against Domestic Violence - NCADV's work includes coalition building, education and technical assistance, and policy development.
Standards or Targets: N/A
Domestic Violence Arrests/Reports
|
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
|
|
Berthoud Police Department** |
N/A |
1 |
17 |
25 |
18 |
|
Colorado State University Police Department* |
13 |
9 |
19 |
8 |
18 |
|
Estes Park Police Department* |
18 |
7 |
28 |
41 |
42 |
|
Fort Collins Police Department* |
532 |
536 |
427 |
466 |
471 |
|
Larimer County Sheriff's Office** |
314 |
124 |
399 |
496 |
490 |
|
Loveland Police Department* |
276 |
187 |
195 |
185 |
280 |
|
Larimer County Total |
1,153 |
N/A |
1,085 |
1,192 |
1,319 |
|
Total Rate per 1,000 Adult Population |
5.7 |
N/A |
5.2 |
5.5 |
4.8 |
*Domestic Violence descriptor is noted on the initial report.
**Domestic Violence descriptor is noted on the arrest report.
2004 statistics for Larimer County are incomplete due to computer problems, therefore should not be compared to other years.
See chart - Total Arrests/Reports - Arrests/Reports by Agency
Domestic Violence Clients by Agency - Larimer County
|
Agency |
2007 |
|
Alternatives to Violence (ATV) |
578 |
|
Crossroads Safehouse |
1,588 |
|
Estes Valley Victim Advocates |
27 |
|
Total |
2,193 |